Tag: Themes

Let’s get real, I suck at this remembering to blog thing!
Truth is that I have been so busy living my life I haven’t thought about blogging. Sad! Sad as so many things have happened in the last twelve months that I have been completely overwhelmed, but wish I had blogged my experiences so I wouldn’t have a wad of random notes and one day would be able to share with those around me who have been going through this life too.

Today is a day of reflection and remembrance for not just me, but for every Tom Petty fan in the world. It was a year ago today his brilliance was stopped.
I will never forget where we were when I found out this amazing songwriter had left this world. We were in Albuquerque, NM, getting ready to return to the great Pacific Northwest, which is where we lived then. We had been in the boonies for a few days with minimal connection. (Not really a problem for me, most of the time.)
We checked into our hotel room for the night after having run around Albuquerque taking care of our ‘chores’. I was exhausted. I was ready to take a rest break before we headed out for a ‘family’ dinner. on in the room. I am big on knowing what is happening around me when I travel, so I turned on the TV and surfed around the channels until I found a local news channel.
The usual things had happened in the world. There was a big push to remind locals about the continuing Balloon Festival and to watch out for traffic. I was barely paying attention. Then the talking heads on the local TV changed their tone and read a prepared statement communicating Tom Petty had been declared dead!
BAM! I was overtaken by shock and disbelief! No way! We just saw him in Seattle a couple of months ago! This isn’t possible! He is too young! It broke my heart! How was I to know this would be a foreboding of things to come into my life in the next twelve months?
As the world grieved Tom Petty, his greatness has stayed active in the media, which is saying something in this day and age of the fifteen minute news cycle. It has helped me to read a lot of what has been written and listen to the music that has been a prominent part of my adult life. My order of ‘Tom Petty An American Treasure’ was delivered last night! I am so grateful to his family and friends for putting this collection together and I am spending my day listening to this true American Treasure! RIP Tom!

So funny how I skim over the really BIG data points.
A lot has happened since I took the time to last update.
I went to see my surgeon. (reminder, this is a big deal because he isn’t here!)
We bought a house.
We bought appliances.
We agreed on paint. (this too is a big deal!)

What’s surprising me is how difficult it is to find many of the replacements for things I need. It is all about the definitions. When I say ‘manicure’ I mean manicure. The whole NPS thing is alive and well.

As I am still trying to finance the next phase, I wonder if there is an opportunity here? Hmmmm..

This will go down in history as my year of changes!
Lost my job. Laid off during a reorg. Kind of weird. The calls I keep getting are for another contract to do exactly the same job. I can’t because of the ‘wait’ time shenanigans.
Started looking for other meaningful employment around here – looking at FTE for a change. BAM – husband’s job changes. He will be relocating to a different state. Changes my job search strategy.
Need now is to focus on relocating. There is a lot to do!
We have been in our house for 11 years. That is a long time in one place!
Need to find where we will be landing.
Need to find a job for me there.
Wish me luck!

One of the challenges facing workers in the 21st century is defining what is work product and what is personal. For me, the line began blurring when I was in high school. It was that lesson that helped me to define the borders and not bend them. The easiest way to prevent any question about whether what is on my phone or personally owned device is mine or theirs, don’t put their stuff on my personal device. To me, this is a no brainer. To others, not so much.

Good heavens, I am trying to understand this new millennial workforce, but sometimes it is killing me!

First – value your time. We are not in a truly mission-critical role. No one is going to die if one call goes to voicemail. Been there, done that. No thank you very much. The stress of 24×7 on call, mission-critical roles is why I spend so much on beauty treatments to keep my “11’s” at bay! If you are in a role that someone might die if you don’t answer the phone, then ignore my advice. You are a much better person than I.

Second – that is my personally owned device. I bought and paid for it. What happens if someone who is sending you work information is violating a law somewhere? They could take my machinery. No thank you. What happens if somewhere up the food chain someone is making bad decisions and you just happen to be the dope working in the office across the way? I would be lost if my phone, my laptop, my ipad, my anything wound up in bankruptcy court or any court for any reason. This could happen. For me, not worth the risk. I can get the information I need without having to use my phone to constantly read my email! Now if the company is providing a device and paying for the service, well then that is an entirely different story. I have and will carry multiple devices to keep the break between what is mine and what is theirs very clear. If the company’s crap gets caught up in the minutiae that can be brought by the courts, well no skin off my nose. I just can’t be productive. Chances are if that happens, I am already looking anyway.

This core principle comes from my childhood. As a girl I adored spending time in an office, so I sought out an internship in a large corporate office. I sat at the desk, scheduled appointments, answered the phone, greeted visitors, made coffee, etc., etc. Imagine my shock when years later I was served with a subpoena for my blotter calendar. Because it was my first business job, I had kept it, mostly as a keepsake. I had to turn it over just in case I may have doodled something important. All they found were stupid things a teenage girl might write down, but this adventure has guided my decisions from that day forward. What is mine is mine. What is theirs is theirs and keep nothing. Makes for a cleaner house anyway.

Finally, pay me. This is my device. It is a nice device, but without the connectivity, electricity and my time on it, it is just a boat anchor. If I am spending my resources on it and to make it work, then I should be reimbursed. The old consultant’s line – ‘F#$% It – Pay Me!’ fits here.

I keep going back to it has to be because I am old and what I have experienced. I can’t help but think that one day these folks who are arguing about the increased security so they can use their personal devices for work will have changed their minds a bit by the time they are my age. One can only hope.